Feedback for Buyers

[northwestnsw]

Hey Guys,

I'm a new member of ebay and went mad and bought about 10 things so far. The first 2 sales went very smoothly, as I'm sure all the rest will too. Here is my issue tho. I have paid for all 10 items. Did it straight away. With the first 2 sales, the sellers didn't give me feedback until I gave them feedback, and I'm pretty sure the other 8 are going to do the same thing. It just seems to me that its a kind of extortion. If I don't leave feedback first, then I don't get  feedback from them even tho I paid for my items straight away. If I want those numbers beside my name, then obviously I have to leave positive feedback first for them, no matter what happens.

[modestbods]

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@au-cowi wrote:

Obviously the people that have responded so far are sellers.

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OP why be all 'us and them'? It's genuinely not the case, not unless you choose to make it so.

 You will find that most 'sellers' that frequent these boards are both buyers & sellers alike. It's a matter of how they view themselves. I view myself as a seller (albeit only an occasional part-time seller), yet I buy far far far more than I sell (I've sold approximately 30 items on eBay in the last calender year, yet have purchased over 2,000 items).

 Why wouldn't you want to hear from sellers about it, given they can tell you why it's actually happening whereas a strictly buyer only member can only hypothesise or pass on second hand information they've heard/read from elsewhere.

 If you want your horse to giddyup you tell your horse so, you don't tell it to the bull watching you through the fence. And if your horse chooses to ignore you, you then give him a kick in the guts... good luck trying that with the bull.

As for leaving feedback, as a seller, I do like a couple of others here, and I leave feedback once I've posted an item. I then send the following message to the buyer;

Hi (insert name),

Thanks for your purchase & prompt payment.

The (item) is in todays post, and should arrive to you either tomorrow or the day after (or the relevant time frame for their area)

Please let me know once it has arrived to you safely, either by messaging me through eBay or if you prefer by leaving me feedback (positive I hope :).


Kind regards,

modestbods

But like others have said, the transaction is far from concluded for me as the seller. It is not concluded until I receive either a message from them or feedback to confirm they have received the item & they are satisfied it is as described. unfortunately 2 in 5 don't ever leave either. It's a little disappointing as I rely on that confirmation to let me know that the transaction is now fully concluded and that there are no potential problems that I need be concerned about any longer, like a claim for non delivery or for not as described/broken in transit. But I don't mind that they don't leave feedback, & I certainly don't feel any angst towards them for not doing so... I mean how could I, when as a buyer I rarely leave feedback myself, except for Aussie sellers who i always leave feedback for.

 As a seller I choose to leave feedback after payment and posting, but I certainly understand why many sellers don't also do the same nowadays, but prefer to wait until receiving feedback from the buyer. Sellers have very little protection against less than honest buyers, whilst buyers have plenty of protection against less than honest sellers (provided they take the trouble to make themselves aware of it).

Until you sell something through eBay yourself, it's difficult to understand just how different the eBay experience is for sellers as compared to buyers. There are a lot of more hoops a seller needs to worry about jumping through, and a lot more pitfalls they can find themselves trapped in if they are not careful (and sometimes even if they have been careful, through no fault of their own).

[jorayjen-1]

Welcome to eBay 

The follow up/outcome to the thread k1ooo as a suggested read is here - 

http://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Selling/Follow-up-to-habitual-neg-feedback-buyer/m-p/1548463#U154846...

Jo

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@jorayjen-1 wrote:

Welcome to eBay 

The follow up/outcome to the thread k1ooo as a suggested read is here - 

http://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Selling/Follow-up-to-habitual-neg-feedback-buyer/m-p/1548463#U154846...

Jo

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Thanks for the followup to my post jorayjen.  I'd forgotten about the followup thread with the extra detail regarding the shoes and buyer.  Well worth the read.

And just on that shoe thread . . . . . why on earth would the seller add to the green dot count of that buyer?  I mean, they can only leave positive (green dot) and if they leave a positive with a comment that reflects the seller's opinion of the trnansaction then that would mean they would leave a comment with a 'negative' tone and risk a policy violation from eBay.

Spoiler

Oh wait, but the buyer paid!!!!!!!

[digital*ghost]

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@au-cowi wrote:

Maybe I was not clear in my original post. As a buyer, I commit to buy an item, and then
pay for the item. The rating given to me by the seller should only be based on that. It should
never be based on whether I gave good positive feedback to the buyer first, as it should be the seller that gives
feedback first.

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Here is a screen shot from eBay's own feedback tutorial, and I hope it addresses your ideas of what other people "should" do.

Before I put the pic up, I also want to say that your participation in a transaction does not end just because you pay for an item, just like the seller's participation in a transaction doesn't end just because they posted an item. Feedback is an evaluation of a transaction, not a part of one, and many sellers choose to leave it when they can evaluate it in its entirety, as is their right. 

And for full disclosure, yes, I'm a seller. I also leave feedback for 99% of my buyers as soon as payment has been received, it's a personal choice, made for a variety of reasons, but I will continually advocate for the rights of others to make their own choices, whether they are a buyer or seller. 

There is no "should", as this Q and A clearly shows.

The correct answer is d. Here's the link to the tutorial: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/tutorial/feedbacktutorial/js_tutorial.html#

[northwestnsw · Accepted solution]

And just as a finishing message to this topic, Thank you to  cheapfishingear15 who not only posted my items quickly, but also gave feedback before I received my goods. Well done!

[steve_gee]

I dont see why placing negative feedback does not influence buyers and wanr them.

if you sugegst that people are too big and can ride out negative comments I think thats flawed.

I have couple of issues with postage costs lately it seems to have become a way of getting the cheap sale then slugging the buyer with high postage costs.

I bought four items asked and asked for discount

then got blamed for buying first withotu getting the discount.

Everyone has a tale to tell

Buyers all cant be wrong.

And sellers are nothing like they appear to be in many cases..

There are some dodgey deals done real cheap on ebay IMO

If the new ebay policy is not to refund as often then something is going on.

PAYPAL is good but its not infallible.

2 cents worth

[jorayjen-1]

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steve_gee wrote:

I have couple of issues with postage costs lately it seems to have become a way of getting the cheap sale then slugging the buyer with high postage costs.

I bought four items asked and asked for discount

then got blamed for buying first withotu getting the discount

Hi steve_gee

A bit hard to get a discount without buying

Just to clarify: did you ask for the discount after buying but before paying?

There is a percentage of dodginess in Buyers, Sellers and throughout life. Feedback is supposed to help Buyers sort the wheat from the chaff, if they do their homework: reading the description as well as the feedback. When in doubt ask the Seller questions before purchase and you should learn more about the Seller by their response ie timely answers. Communication should work both ways - before, during and after a sale.

Not all Sellers offer combined postage or discounts so, if it isn't mentioned in the item description, please ask rather than assume.

Just a few things we all have to learn - sometimes the hard way - but please remember that we are all human and 95% of us (Buyers & Sellers) are doing our best.

Ebay seems to be more adversarial these days - which is a real shame, as there are lots of lovely people out there!! - defects and both Buyers & Sellers feeling that they aren't supported by eBay.... 

Take Care

Jo